The Elder Scrolls Online

The Elder Scrolls Online, also known as The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, and commonly abbreviated as ESO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that was announced in May 2012 and was released for PC and Mac on April 4th, 2014.^[1] It is the twelfth game in The Elder Scrolls series. On June 9th, 2015, the game was released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Developed by the team at ZeniMax Online Studios, The Elder Scrolls Online merges the unmatched exploration of rich worlds that the franchise is known for with the scale and social aspects of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

The Elder Scrolls Online features a buy-to-play model similar to previous Elder Scrolls titles, where one purchases the game for a flat fee and can play it for free afterwards, but there is also an optional membership program, ESO Plus, which grants bonuses such as increased XP gain and free access to all DLC Packs. The game has an in-game cash shop, the Crown Store, where things such as vanity items and cosmetic mounts are sold for a premium currency called Crowns, but nothing that gives players a significant advantage over another will be sold.

Buying the Imperial Edition gives players the option to play as an Imperial, craft Imperial gear, convert existing gear into the Imperial style, gives an Imperial horse with standard stats, a mudcrab vanity pet and the Pledge of Mara, which allows players to marry. As of February 2018, the base game is no longer available for purchase on the Steam store, and is instead bundled with The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind, a major expansion.

According to Matt Firor, additional content development of The Elder Scrolls Online is set to continue until at least 2020.^[2][3]

Setting

Main article: Vestige

The game is set on Tamriel in 2E 582 during the Interregnum, a period of time between the assassination of the last Potentate, Savirien-Chorak, and the rise of Tiber Septim, where there was chaos, bloodshed, and no Emperor on the Ruby Throne.^[4]

Several years prior, the Cyrodilic Emperor Varen Aquilarios desired to become Dragonborn in order to light the Dragonfires in the Imperial City, thus legitimizing his claim to the Ruby Throne. The sorcerer Mannimarco was able to convince him that he knew a ritual that could accomplish this, but that it required the Amulet of Kings. Along with the leader of the Dragonguard Sai Sahan, the half-giant Lyris Titanborn and the High Chancellor of the Elder Council, Abnur Tharn, they became the Five Companions. They were able to retrieve the Amulet of Kings and begin the ritual in 2E 578. At that moment when the ritual began, Mannimarco used his dark magic to immobilize the others and reveal his true intentions: he was an agent of Molag Bal, and the ritual in fact destroyed the barriers between Nirn and Oblivion in an event known as the Soulburst. This event allowed Molag Bal to initiate the Planemeld, a forceful merging of worlds. Once the ritual was completed, aftershocks were swept across every corner of Nirn. Mages died or went mad, Red Mountain trembled in Morrowind, earthquakes shook Skyrim, and heavy storms devastated the coastlines of Elsweyr and Valenwood. The constellation of the Serpent grew so large that it seemed to threaten every star sign at once.

The Tharn family, rulers of Cyrodiil through Empress Regent Clivia Tharn,^[5] made a pact with Mannimarco, the King of Worms, who agreed to supplement the Imperial's forces by resurrecting their soldiers, except for Clivia's father Abnur, who opposes Mannimarco.^[6] Molag Bal is harvesting the souls of mortals for more power. The hero, known as the Vestige, is an adventurer whose soul has been taken, which allows them to constantly return to life. The Vestige is killed by Mannimarco in a sacrificial ritual and they are brought to Coldharbour, where they awaken to find a mysterious man known as the Prophet, who, with the help of Lyris Titanborn, helps the Vestige escape Coldharbour, freeing the Prophet, but also imprisoning Lyris within Coldharbour. Once the Vestige escapes Coldharbour, they awaken in Tamriel and are let loose upon the dangerous world.

Alliances

In the game, there are three major playable factions fighting against one another in the conflict known as the Alliance War. Those factions, made up of the different races found throughout Tamriel, are the Aldmeri Dominion, the Daggerfall Covenant, and the Ebonheart Pact.

Aldmeri Dominion This alliance, led by Queen Ayrenn, consists of Altmer, Bosmer, and Khajiit. It controls the Summerset Isles, Elsweyr, and Valenwood.[7] The Dominion was formed by the Altmer after Queen Ayrenn united the provinces of Valenwood and Elsweyr with the Summerset Isles.

Daggerfall Covenant This alliance, led by King Emeric, consists of Orcs, Bretons, and Redguards. It controls High Rock, Hammerfell and the recently recognized "province" of Orsinium.[8] The Covenant was formed by High King Emeric after the cooperation of Bretons, Orcs, and Redguards during King Ranser's War.[9]

Ebonheart Pact This alliance, led by Jorunn the Skald-King, consists of Dunmer, Argonians, and Nords. It controls Skyrim, Morrowind, and Black Marsh.[10] The Pact was formed by the three races through a common hatred of the recently invading Akaviri and fear of being conquered by the other alliances. Despite the mistrust between their member races, the Pact is remarkably stable.

Other factions

Other factions in the game include:

• Fighters Guild: A guild of mercenaries-for-hire, largely involved with destroying Molag Bal's presence on Nirn. They are led by Sees-All-Colors.^{[6][11][12][13][14][15]}
• Mages Guild: A guild of individuals devoted to the magical arts, largely involved with collecting old books and lore in order to preserve them. They are led by their founder Vanus Galerion.^{[6][11][12][15][14]}
• Undaunted: A brave collective of like-minded mercenaries and adventurers who seek to achieve riches and glory, and do not have any sort of leader. They are involved with dungeons.
• Thieves Guild: A shady band of thieves, smugglers and other ne'er-do-wells, seeking riches and hoping to regain their former glory.
• Dark Brotherhood: A highly feared brotherhood of assassins, responsible for the deaths of many nobles, priests, kings, and all those subject to the curse of the Black Sacrament. Their members live in the hidden Sanctuaries scattered across Tamriel - no-one knows their locations but the assassins themselves.
• Psijic Order: Ancient and mysterious scholars, it is said the Psijic Order were the first in Tamriel to study the secrets of Mysticism, or the "Old Ways." This study has allowed the Order to develop knowledge and power not found anywhere else in Tamriel, and there are rumors that they have obtained the ability to manipulate the flow of time itself.^[16]

Exploration

For a full list of locations, see Locations (Online).

The Elder Scrolls Online spans across all of the continent of Tamriel. From the dry desert wastes of Hammerfell to the tropical jungles of Valenwood, a huge variety of environs can be explored.

All of the provinces of Tamriel are explorable to a fairly large degree. Cyrodiil is accessible once the character reaches level 10. The dark realm of Coldharbour is accessible once the Vestige completes The Weight of Three Crowns.^[6] However, most provinces are only able to be traveled to in a limited capacity. In fact, the only provinces explorable in their entireties are Valenwood and High Rock. Over time, new areas will be released to the game through DLC.

Each zone is roughly 3 square kilometers in size and Cyrodiil is 27 square kilometers in size, and there are over 20 zones, meaning the explorable game world in Online is significantly larger than the previous three installments in the franchise.

Prior to the "One Tamriel" update in 2016, exploration throughout the game's zones was restricted based on your level—zones were not locked (with the exception of DLC areas), but if you ventured to areas beyond your level, they would become difficult to the point of impossibility. However, this changed with the One Tamriel update, meaning you can explore any zone you want to regardless of your level. Level scaling was introduced, so that the whole game world has one linear difficulty for all players, similar to the other games in The Elder Scrolls franchise.

Traveling

The game world can be explored by foot or by mount. There are a variety of mounts that can be ridden—horses, wolves, bears, guar and senche. All start out with the same base stats but mounts can be trained to become faster, have more stamina and to be able to increase the player character's inventory capacity. They can be fed one of three types of food per day to train their attributes or training books can also be bought from the Crown Store and used at will.

Fast traveling is also available. Instead of fast travel in the previous games, where one could fast travel to any location, players must travel via wayshrines. You can teleport to a wayshrine when using another wayshrine to teleport for free, or you can travel to the wayshrine from the wild, but you must pay a sum of gold if it is done in this way.

Fast travel in Cyrodiil is different from the rest of the zones. Instead of wayshrines, characters can travel to keeps and outposts that their alliance controls via the Transitus network. Players can not fast travel to anywhere without using a Transitus shrine at a keep or alliance base camp, nor can players travel directly to resources. To fast-travel to another keep using the Transitus, that keep must be linked to the keep the player is traveling from - for example, if Blue Road Keep is owned by the Pact but Chalman Keep and Drakelowe Keep are owned by the Covenant, Pact players cannot travel to Blue Road Keep via Transitus.

Classes and builds

Main article: Classes (Online)

• There are seven classes,^[6] including Dragonknight, Templar,^[17] Sorcerer, Nightblade, Warden, Necromancer, Arcanist.^[18] Classes only give players three exclusive skill lines, and do not affect a character's other choices. For example, you can be a stealthy Sorcerer who wears heavy armor and wields a bow, although some combinations of skills may not be conducive to achieving success in high-difficulty gameplay environments.
• Any class can play any of the three main roles (damage dealing, tanking, healing) effectively, but some classes do certain roles better than others. For example, a Templar is typically better at healing than a Sorcerer, and a Dragonknight is usually better at tanking than a Nightblade.
• The Elder Scrolls Online is extremely flexible in how you can build your character, allowing a player to build their ideal skill set from the beginning with few restrictions to dictate what you choose. Character setups, universally known as "builds", are typically divided into two categories—magicka builds and stamina builds. As their names imply, if a character uses magicka in combat significantly more than stamina, then they are using a magicka build, and vice versa. Characters with magicka builds normally utilize light armor and magic while characters with stamina builds are often seen using medium armor and weapons like bows and two-handed swords. Hybrid builds can also be used, but they are not as effective at dealing damage as a purely magicka or purely stamina (or simply "pure") builds. Hybrid builds normally use heavy armor and are usually seen playing as tanks. Any character can play any role efficiently, however some builds and classes may fulfill these roles better than others.

Combat and gameplay

Main article: Combat (Online)

• Combat is reminiscent of the previous games in the franchise, and is action-based. There are light attacks, heavy attacks, blocking, bashing, dodging, sneaking and using spells and abilities. There are no auto-attacks or "random" mechanics in combat as seen in a typical MMORPG — everything must be done manually.
• Abilities are unlocked by spending Skill Points. Skill points can be earned from main storyline quests, earning skyshards, ranking up in PvP, and increasing your character level. All abilities are divided into skill lines, and each skill line has its own level. The level of a skill line is increased by using abilities belonging to that skill line - the more abilities from a particular skill line you use, the faster the skill line will level up. As you increase the level of a skill line you will unlock more abilities and passive abilities to spend skill points on.
• Some skill trees level up in a special way. For example, the Soul Magic skill line only levels up by completing quests in the main quest, the Assault and Support skill lines only level up by increasing your alliance rank, and your racial skill tree is tied to your character level.
• Six abilities can be slotted on your ability bar at any one time. The 6th slot is reserved for a very powerful ability called an Ultimate Ability, which can only be used after acquiring a certain amount of a resource called Ultimate Points. Ultimate Abilities have varying costs. Ultimate Points are earned by simply attacking enemies.
• At Level 15, Weapon Swapping is unlocked which allows a player to have two different types of weapons equipped at the same time. The player can switch between their weapons at any time by pressing the respective keybind for Weapon Swapping, and will also unlock a second hotbar for use with the secondary weapon. This is not to be confused with dual wielding—with Weapon Swapping, you can have two different weapons. For example, a bow and a staff equipped at a time, but you cannot use them at the same time, unlike dual wielding.
• Once an ability reaches level IV, it can be morphed, which means the spell turns into a more powerful version of itself, usually adding a new effect to the spell. Players have 2 morph choices, and every ability, including ultimate abilities, has a morph. Passive abilities cannot be morphed, though they can be leveled up by putting skill points into them.
• There are a total of eight ranks for increased ability proficiency, but the latter 4 can only be earned after a morph.
• You can reset your skill points at the Shrine to Stuhn in Mournhold or the Shrines of Stendarr in Wayrest and Elden Root, but it costs a hefty sum of gold.
• The list of skill lines is:

Weapon

• Two Handed
• One Hand and Shield
• Dual Wield
• Bow
• Destruction Staff
• Restoration Staff

Dragonknight

• Ardent Flame
• Draconic Power
• Earthen Heart

Templar

• Aedric Spear
• Restoring Light
• Dawn's Wrath

Sorcerer

• Dark Magic
• Daedric Summoning
• Storm Calling

Nightblade

• Assassination
• Shadow
• Siphoning

Warden

• Animal Companions
• Green Balance
• Winter's Embrace

Necromancer

• Grave Lord
• Bone Tyrant
• Living Death

Arcanist

• Apocryphal Solider
• Herald of Tome
• Curative Runeforms

Armor

• Light Armor
• Medium Armor
• Heavy Armor

World

• Soul Magic
• Lycanthropy
• Vampirism
• Legerdemain

Guild

• Fighters Guild
• Mages Guild
• Undaunted
• Thieves Guild
• Dark Brotherhood

Alliance War

• Assault
• Support
• Emperor

Racial

• There are passives exclusive for all 9* races in the game. Some races share the same passive bonuses, while some do not.

Craft

• There are passives for each of the crafting professions: Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Clothing, Enchanting, Provisioning and Woodworking. Putting skill points into the top passives in the tree will give the player the ability to craft increasingly powerful weapons and armor the more skill points are put into the passive, which is tied to your level in a particular crafting profession. For example, you can put a skill point into the second tier of Metalworking in the Blacksmithing skill tree at Blacksmithing Level 10, which will give you the ability to use steel ingots, and the next tier will be unlocked at Level 20 which will give you the ability to use orichalcum ingots, and so on.

*There are 10 races in the game if one purchases the Imperial Edition. Imperials have their own racial passives as well.

Character stats and progression

There are three primary stats:

• Health – Affects amount of damage that can be taken before dying.
• Magicka – Amount of magicka available to cast spells.
• Stamina – Amount of stamina available for things like stamina abilities, blocking, bashing, sneaking and dodging.

And six secondary stats:

• Armor – Affects how much physical damage from non-magical abilities can be mitigated by the player, up to a maximum of 50% mitigation.
• Spell Resistance – Affects how much spell damage from magical abilities can be mitigated, up to a maximum of 50% mitigation.
• Weapon Damage – Affects how much damage the player's weapons and non-magical abilities deal.
• Spell Damage – Affects how much damage the player's spells deal.
• Weapon Critical – Affects the chances of a critical strike with a player character's weapons and non-magical abilities.
• Spell Critical – Affects the chances of a critical strike with a player character's spells.

As your character levels up, they will be given one point to place in the health, magicka, or stamina stats, similar to the system in Skyrim. Secondary Stats can be affected by numerous factors, such as armor traits, enchantments, buffs and Mundus stone – which are used to give special passive abilities, similar to the standing stones found in {Skyrim and have the same names, but they give different boons.

A maximum of 64 points can be earned to put into your primary attributes. Players can change how their attribute points are distributed by visiting a shrine of Akatosh, Auri-El or Kyne in your faction's capital city (Wayrest, Elden Root and Mournhold, respectively) and paying a sum of gold, or purchasing an Attribute Respecification Scroll from the Crown Store for 700 Crowns.

Levels

The game has 50 levels that are attained by earning XP from questing, exploring, killing enemies, PvP and almost all other activities.

Prior to the Dark Brotherhood update on May 31st 2016, after a player character has reached Level 50, they unlocked Veteran Ranks. Veteran Ranks were used to progress in all content after Level 50, such as Craglorn, and they acted just like normal levels—XP was earned to increase them just like normal levels, and there were 16 Veteran Ranks in total.

When the Dark Brotherhood update launched, Veteran Ranks were removed entirely and the maximum level was set at 50, with character progression now based on Champion Points (see below).

Champion Points

Once the player's first character reaches level 50, they will unlock Champion Points, which can be spent across three constellations - Warrior, Mage and Thief, with each having a certain "theme" - Warrior passives are based around reducing the damage you take and protecting your character, Thief passives are based around reducing how much stamina/magicka you use and how fast ones resources recharge, and Mage passives are based around increasing your damage output.

Each constellation has 3 separate trees, with 8 passive abilities in each. Four of these passives can be leveled up by Champion Points, up to a maximum of 100 per passive, and the other four are unlocked depending on how much points have been spent in the sub-constellation e.g. 10 points, 30 points, and the 4th is unlocked after 120 points. The system is similar to Skyrim's skill trees.

Champion Points are shared across all characters on a player's account - i.e. if your main character has 200 Champion Points, any new characters you make will have 200 Champion Points as well which can be spent at any level, not just 50. However, any additional Champion Points you earn on your main character will not carry over to your new character.

The maximum number of Champion Points you can spend is 167 points per tree, with this number changing with certain updates. Some post-level 50 equipment is locked based on your number of Champion Points, up to 160.

Player vs. Player (PvP)

Player vs. Player combat is available after level 10.^[19] In Cyrodiil, the Alliance War revolves around the capturing of keeps, their surrounding supply lines, and outposts. If a keep isn't defended well (which is unlikely – there are usually players defending their faction's keeps everywhere in Cyrodiil) a keep can be taken by a small group of players. If it is heavily defended, a much larger force with more siege weapons and a lot of co-ordination is required. Sometimes, individual battles can last for hours.

Campaigns

Hundreds of players from all three factions can be in Cyrodiil (Which is roughly 27 square kilometers in size, not including the many areas such as dungeons, Ayleid ruins, houses, caves etc.) at a time per campaign, a kind of "sub-server" to mitigate overpopulation. There are several different campaigns on each platform. You can join two campaigns at once – one home campaign and one guest campaign. A guest campaign is usually for when there is a long queue for your home campaign or if you wish to play with a friend who is in the guest campaign, but you cannot increase your leaderboard ranking while in a guest campaign – you may only increase your leaderboard ranking in your home campaign.

Each campaign has a duration, e.g. 30 days for Campaign A, 2 weeks for Campaign B, and so on. Once the duration is up, the faction leaderboards reset and whatever faction was at the top of the leaderboards wins the campaign, and the winners receive a large sum of gold.^{confirmation needed} The runners-up will also receive a smaller amount of gold, and this reward is increased based on your contribution to the campaign which is determined by your reward tier, which goes up to Level 3 and is increased the more you PvP. Once the campaign resets, keep and Elder Scroll ownership does not change, the only thing that happens is a reset of the faction and player leaderboards, and the war resumes once again.

Some campaigns have certain rules – e.g. in some campaigns Champion Point bonuses are disabled.

Siege Weapons

Siege Weapons such as ballistae and catapults are used to attack and defend keeps in Cyrodiil. Each siege weapon is suited to a particular role in PvP combat e.g. trebuchets are for destroying structures, ballistas are used to take out enemy siege weapons, and so on. Siege weapons can be purchased for a varying amount of Alliance Points, the PvP currency, from quartermasters in keeps, and there are 5 types of siege weapons – flaming oil, battering rams, ballistae, catapults and trebuchets. ballistae, catapults and trebuchets each have variations with special effects, such as fire trebuchets and scattershot catapults which give enemy players various damaging effects depending on what sort of siege weapon they were hit with. Fire-based siege weapons are very powerful and are capable of breaking up large groups.

Alliance Ranks

Alliance Ranks are an alternative advancement system, with 50 ranks. Each rank will give a new title, a skill point, sometimes a new armor dye and a new alliance icon on a player's name tag, similar to faction ranks in Morrowind and Oblivion. They take a very long time to earn, and Grand Warlord is the highest alliance rank available. Increasing your alliance rank will also increase your Assault and Support skill lines and will allow you to unlock new abilities such as Magicka Detonation and Vigor. Alliance Ranks are similar to combat ranks found in the multiplayer components of various first-person shooter games.

Emperorship

You are able to become the Emperor of Cyrodiil. To crown an Emperor, your faction must be in control of the 6 keeps surrounding the Imperial City (Chalman, Blue Road, Alessia, Roebeck, Ash and Aleswell) simultaneously. Once this is done, the player at the top of your alliance's leaderboards will become the Emperor. The Emperor receives a variety of extremely powerful bonuses and if your alliance has crowned an Emperor, everyone in your alliance will receive +2500 extra health as long as the Emperor reigns. The Emperor will also get a title and a special set of cosmetic armor.

Emperors are deposed once their respective faction loses control of all 6 keeps - however, holding on to even 1 keep is enough to retain their status if they have already been crowned, but if that 1 keep is lost the 6 "Imperial Keeps" must be reclaimed once again to crown an Emperor again.

Player vs. Environment (PvE)

Player vs. Environment (PvE) is any form of content that isn't battling other players.

• The game has hundreds of quests that can be completed, each with their own plot, characters and gameplay. All characters in the game are fully voice acted and each has their own background and stories to tell, explorable through optional dialogue. Most quests are part of a chain, such as the Dark Brotherhood storyline, and there are many "miscellaneous" quests as well.
• The game has over 150 dungeons that may be completed, most of which are solo dungeons or "delves". There are also special types of dungeons called group dungeons, which, unlike other dungeons, are instanced to groups of 4 and are much larger than typical delves. Once Level 50 is reached, harder versions of the dungeon will be available, known as veteran dungeons.
• Adventure Zones are zones of content tailored to 4 or more players ranked level 50 and can be entered solo, with a small group, or even a large group. Craglorn is the first and only Adventure Zone in the game. They are essentially very large public dungeons, and include trials, dungeons, quests, storylines, world bosses, and other world events. Murkmire was originally planned to be an adventure zone, but was ultimately released as a normal DLC region.
• Daedric artifacts such as the Wabbajack exist in the game, but the artifacts are very different from past games and are not obtained through Daedric quests.^[15]

Player Housing

Main article: Housing

At launch the game featured no player housing as in previous Elder Scrolls games, but was later released in February 2017 for all platforms. Players can purchase 39 different houses with either Gold or Crowns, though most require specific achievements to purchase.

Miscellaneous features

• The game is available in four different languages: English, French, German, and Japanese.
  • In May 2020, localized text in Russian was added with Update 26.^[20]
• As with past games in the franchise, players can commit a range of criminal activities, such as murder, theft, assault, home-raiding and pickpocketing. However, as NPC guards are unkillable, all players will eventually be killed.
• Crafting elements can be done at crafting stations in cities as well as special crafting stations in the wilderness where one can craft special weapons and armor that belong to a special item set, such as Whitestrake's Retribution.
• Player guilds exist in the game. If a guild controls a keep, their Guild Store and bank are able to be used there. Guild keep ownership is specific to a faction's campaign. Players can be a part of up to 5 guilds at the same time.
• Players are able to own a pet. One can summon and sometimes control combat pets as well, particularly Sorcerers and Wardens. The scuttler is a pet given to players who pre-ordered the game, the Nibenay Mudcrab is a pet given to players who purchase the Imperial Edition, and the Imgakin monkey is a now-unobtainable pet given to players who participated in the game's beta.
• Lockpicking works much like in Oblivion where the player must move tumblers to unlock locks. The twist is that the player must unlock the lock in the allotted time. There are leveled locks much like past games.
• Players are able to dye their armor to different colors with over 250 colors. There are a few default dyes, but the player must obtain the rest through completing certain tasks through achievements. There are three different areas of each piece of armor that can be dyed individually.
• The game is hosted on a megaserver, which will allow players to find players more easily, without requiring them to reset to a different server. However, to enter Cyrodiil PvP, players must select from different "sub-servers" called Campaigns. There are currently 2 megaservers on each platform, one for each region (North America and Europe), however, console players cannot play with PC/Mac players. Furthermore, console megaservers are console-specific meaning PS4 players cannot play with Xbox One players and vice versa. The European megaserver is hosted in Frankfurt, Germany while the US megaserver is hosted in Dallas, Texas.

Expansion packs

For other uses, see Chapters.

Expansions for the game will be released quarterly – this means the game will receive 4 expansions per year. Each expansion will cost 2500 Crowns ($20). They will add many hours of new content to the game as they are released.

The Imperial City

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Imperial City

Imperial City was announced at a special press conference at Quakecon 2014. It contains over 20 hours of story content, 2 new dungeons, 2 huge new zones (the Imperial City and the Imperial Sewers), 23 new item sets, the Tel Var Stone system, and more. It is centered around PvP and was released for PC and Mac on August 31st, 2015, and on Xbox One and PS4 on September 15th and 16th, respectively.

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Orsinium

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Orsinium

Orsinium was announced alongside Imperial City at Quakecon 2014. It contains over 20 hours of story content, the Wrothgar region, a new single-player Arena, new dungeons, and more. It was released on November 2nd, 2015 for PC and Mac, November 17th, 2015 for Xbox One, and November 18th, 2015 for PS4.

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The Thieves Guild

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Thieves Guild

The Thieves Guild expansion was announced alongside the Dark Brotherhood. It contains the Thieves Guild and takes place in Abah's Landing, Hew's Bane. It was released on March 7th, 2016 for PC and Mac, March 22nd for Xbox One, and March 23rd for PlayStation 4.

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The Dark Brotherhood

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Dark Brotherhood

The Dark Brotherhood expansion was announced at an event at Quakecon 2015. It contains the Dark Brotherhood guild, many hours of story content, a new skill line, the removal of Veteran Ranks, and many more features. It takes place on the Gold Coast, and was released on May 31st, 2016 for PC and Mac, and June 14th, 2016 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

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Shadows of the Hist

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Shadows of the Hist

Shadows of the Hist is different from the other DLC packs in that it does not contain a new zone. Instead, it adds 2 new Argonian-themed dungeons to the game, with both normal and veteran modes. It also contains the Style Parlor system, a Crown-based customization system that allows players to change their appearance, changes to Trials, capturable towns in Cyrodiil, and other features.

The update was released on August 1st 2016 for PC and Mac, and August 16th for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

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Morrowind

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind

The Morrowind expansion, the game's first chapter, was first teased on the official ESO Twitter account in January 2017, and revealed in a 30-minute Twitch Stream in February 2017. The expansion was released on May 22nd, 2017 for PC and Mac and June 6th, 2017 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and takes place on the island of Vvardenfell. It introduced a new class (the Warden), 4v4v4 Battlegrounds, and a new Trial (Halls of Fabrication).

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Horns of the Reach

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Horns of the Reach

Horns of the Reach includes Falkreath Hold, two new dungeons, and a story based on the Forsworn. It was released on August 14, 2017 for PC and Mac and August 29, 2017 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

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The Clockwork City

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Clockwork City

The Clockwork City was teased after Tamriel Unlimited was announced, with previews of the city seen in an ESO Live stream. It was released on the PTS on September 18th, 2017, but its full release occurred on October 23rd, 2017 for PC and Mac, and November 7th, 2017 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

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Dragon Bones

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Dragon Bones

The Dragon Bones expansion contains two Nordic-themed dungeons, Fang Lair and Scalecaller Peak. It was released alongside Update 17 on February 12, 2018 on PC and Mac, and February 27th on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

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Summerset

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset

The Summerset expansion, the game's second chapter, allows the player to travel to the islands of Summerset and Artaeum in the Summerset Isles. It was released on May 21, 2018 on PC and Mac, and June 5, 2018 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

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Wolfhunter

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Wolfhunter

The Wolfhunter expansion is a dungeon-based DLC announced at E3 2018. There are two new dungeons in the expansion and both are heavily werewolf-based, March of Sacrifices and Moon Hunter Keep. The March of Sacrifices dungeon takes players on a quest to escape Hircine's Hunting Grounds, and the Moon Hunter Keep dungeon requires players to enter the headquarters of the Order of the Silver Dawn to defeat the werewolves who have taken the fort. Both can award new motifs when completed.^[21] It was released on August 13, 2018 for PC/Mac and August 28, 2018 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

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Murkmire

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Murkmire

Murkmire was originally announced alongside Orsinium at Quakecon 2014. It was intended to contain an adventure zone, Murkmire, many hours of story content, new dungeons, and new Trials, but was ultimately reshaped to be a DLC. It was re-announced at E3 2018, and was released on October 22, 2018 for PC and Mac, November 6th, 2018 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

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Wrathstone

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Wrathstone

Wrathstone is a dungeon-based DLC adding two brand-new dungeons to the game: Frostvault and the Depths of Malatar. It was released on February 25, 2019 for PC and Mac, and on March 12 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.^[22]

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Elsweyr

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr

Elsweyr is the game's third chapter, taking place in the province of Elsweyr. It was released on June 4, 2019 for PC, Mac, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.^[23]

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Scalebreaker

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Scalebreaker

Scalebreaker is the game's seventh dungeon DLC pack, and was released on August 12th, 2019 for PC and Mac, August 27th, 2019 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.^[24] The DLC adds two dungeons to the game: Moongrave Fane and Lair of Maarselok.^[25]

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Dragonhold

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Dragonhold

Dragonhold is the game's sixteenth DLC pack, and was released on October 21st, 2019 for PC and Mac and November 5th, 2019 for PS4 and Xbox One. It serves as the conclusion for the "Season of the Dragon" storyline.^[26]

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Harrowstorm

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Harrowstorm

Harrowstorm is the game's eighth dungeon DLC pack. It was released on March 10th, 2020 for PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The DLC adds two dungeons to the game: Icereach and Unhallowed Grave.^[27]

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Greymoor

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor

Greymoor is the game's fourth chapter, taking place in the province of Skyrim. It was released on May 18th, 2020 for PC and Mac, and June 9th, 2020 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.^[27]

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Stonethorn

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Stonethorn

Stonethorn is the game's ninth dungeon DLC pack.^[28][29] It was released on August 24th, 2020 on PC, Mac, and Stadia, and on September 1st, 2020 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.^[30]

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Markarth

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Markarth

Markarth is the game's twentieth DLC pack. It serves as the conclusion of the "Dark Heart of Skyrim" storyline.^[29] It was released on November 2, 2020 for PC/Mac and Stadia, and November 10, 2020 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.^[31]

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Flames of Ambition

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Flames of Ambition

Flames of Ambition is the game's tenth dungeon DLC pack and the beginning of the Gates of Oblivion storyline. It was released on March 8, 2021 for PC/Mac and Stadia, and March 16 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The DLC added two dungeons to the game: The Cauldron and Black Drake Villa.^[32]

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Blackwood

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood

Blackwood is the game's fifth chapter. It is set to take place in southern Cyrodiil and the borderlands of Black Marsh. It was released on June 1, 2021 for PC, Mac, and Stadia, and June 8, 2021 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.^[32]

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Waking Flame

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Waking Flame

Waking Flame is the game's eleventh dungeon DLC pack and a continuation of the Gates of Oblivion storyline. It was released on August 23, 2021 for PC, Mac, and Stadia, and September 8 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.^[33]

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Deadlands

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Deadlands

Deadlands is the game's twenty-fourth DLC pack and is a conclusion of the Gates of Oblivion storyline. Deadlands allows the player to explore Mehrunes Dagon's plane of Oblivion. It released on November 1, 2021 for PC, Mac, and Stadia, and November 16 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.^[33]

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Ascending Tide

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Ascending Tide

Ascending Tide is the game's 12th dungeon DLC pack (the 25th DLC overall) and the start of the Legacy of the Bretons adventure. It was released on March 14, 2022 for PC/Mac and March 29, 2022 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.^[34]

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High Isle

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle

High Isle is the sixth chapter for The Elder Scrolls Online. It takes place within a never before seen or explored land in Tamriel, the Systres Archipelago. It released on June 6, 2022 for PC/Mac and Stadia and June 21, 2022 for Xbox and PlayStation consoles.^[35]

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Lost Depths

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Lost Depths

Lost Depths is the game's 13th dungeon DLC pack and the third entry in the Legacy of the Bretons storyline. It was released on August 22nd, 2022 for PC and Mac, and September 6th, 2022 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.^[36]

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Firesong

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Firesong

The Elder Scrolls Online: Firesong is a DLC for The Elder Scrolls Online. It is the 28th DLC released for the game that ends the year-long Legacy of the Bretons adventure along with Update 36. It was released on November 1st, 2022 for PC and Mac, and November 10th, 2022 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.^[37]

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Scribes of Fate

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Scribes of Fate

Scribes of Fate is the 14th dungeon DLC pack and the start of the Shadow Over Morrowind storyline. It was released on March 13, 2023 for PC and Mac, and March 28, 2023 for Xbox One and PS4.^[source?]

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Necrom

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom

Necrom is the game's seventh chapter. It was released on June 5, 2023 for PC and Mac, and June 20, 2023 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 4/PlayStation 5.^[38]

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Gold Road

Main article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road

Gold Road is the eighth chapter for The Elder Scrolls Online. It takes place within the West Weald. It was released on June 3, 2024 for PC/Mac and June 18, 2024 for Xbox and PlayStation consoles.^[source?]

PC system requirements

Minimum system requirements

• Operating System: Windows 8/Windows 7/Windows Vista/Windows XP 32-bit or 64-bit
• Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent processor
• Memory: 3GB System RAM
• Hard Disk Space: 85GB free HDD space
• Video Card: DirectX 9.0 compliant video card with 512MB of RAM (NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 / ATI Radeon™ 2600 or better)
• Sound: DirectX compatible sound card.

Recommended system requirements

• Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit or Windows 8 64-bit
• Processor: Quad Core 2.3GHz or equivalent processor
• Memory: 4GB System RAM
• Hard Disk Space: 85GB free HDD space
• Video Card: Direct X 11 compliant video card with 2GB of RAM (NVIDIA® GeForce® 560 Ti / ATI Radeon™ 6950 or better)
• Sound: DirectX compatible sound card

Mac system requirements

Minimum system requirements

• Operating System: Mac® OS X 10.7.0 or later
• Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo
• Video Card: Intel™ HD Graphics 4000, NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M or ATI™ Radeon™ HD 6490M or better
• Memory: 4GB Ram
• Storage: 60GB
• Media: DVD-ROM
• Resolution: 1024X768 minimum display resolution

Recommended system requirements

• Operating System: Mac® OS X 10.7.0 or later
• Processor: Intel® i5 Processor
• Video Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M or ATI™ Radeon™ HD 5770 or better
• Memory: 4GB Ram
• Storage: 60GB
• Media: DVD-ROM

Editions

Currently available

The following editions are currently available:

Standard Edition

The Standard Edition includes the the base gaming along with chapter The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind.

Summerset Standard Edition

The Summerset Standard Edition includes the base game along with the chapter The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset.

Summerset Digital Collector's Edition

The Summerset Digital Collector's Edition is a collector's edition for The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset which includes the base game along with the following content:

• Summerset
• An exclusive mount, the Bloodshadow Wraith Steed
• An exclusive pet, the Fledgling Gryphon
• An emote pack: House of Reveries
• An exclusive outfit style to make your armor look as that of the Divine Prosecution
• Psijic Scrying Talisman, an exclusive memento that allows you to simulate the farseeing spells of the Psijic Order mages

Summerset Physical Collector's Edition

The Summerset Standard Edition is a collector's edition for The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset which includes the base game along with the following content:

• All the benefits of the Digital Collector's Edition
• The pre-order bonus pack Queen's Bounty Pack
  • Court of Bedlam Costume, an exclusive costume
  • Pocket Salamander, a non-combat salamander pet
  • Three treasure maps
  • Psijic Vault Crown Crate, a crate that has gives a chance at Psijic-themed mounts, pets, costumes, and more
  • Two Experience Scrolls that gives 50% experience boost for two hours

The Elder Scrolls Online Collection

The Elder Scrolls Online Collection includes the base game along with the following content:

• Summerset
• Morrowind
• Dark Brotherhood
• Thieves Guild
• Orsinium
• Imperial City
• Palomino Horse mount

Previously available

The following editions have previously been available.

The Elder Scrolls Online

The Elder Scrolls Online includes base game only.

Imperial Edition

The Imperial Edition is a collector's edition for The Elder Scrolls Online. It is available for all platforms in both boxed and digital versions.

Digital Imperial Edition

The Digital Imperial Edition includes the base game along with the following content:

• The ability to play as an Imperial
• A unique Horse, the Imperial Horse
• The Nibenay Mudcrab, a pet mudcrab
• The Rings of Mara, granting the ability to Marry other online characters through the Ritual of Mara
• Cosmetic changes to make armor look Imperial

Retail Imperial Edition

The Retail Imperial Edition includes the base game along with the following content:

• All the benefits of the Digital Imperial Edition
• Statue of Molag Bal (not in game)
• Map of Tamriel (not in game)
• The Emperor's Guide to Tamriel, written by Flaccus Terentius (not in game)

Gold Edition

The Gold Edition was announced on July 6, 2016 with a pre-order price set at $59.99 (USD), and was released for all platforms on September 9th, 2016. It includes the the base game along with the following content:^[39]

• Imperial City
• Orsinium
• Thieves Guild
• Dark Brotherhood
• Palomino Horse mount
• 500 crowns

As of March 2018, the Gold Edition is no longer available for direct purchase on the Steam store. However, it is still available on Steam through the "The Elder Scrolls Online: Collection" bundle, which also includes the two chapters Online: Morrowind and Summerset, as well as individually from the Bethesda Store.

Guilds and Glory

The Guilds and Glory DLC pack was created for players who already own the base game, and is priced at 5,500 Crowns ($39.99). It includes the following content:^[40]

• Imperial City
• Orsinium
• Thieves Guild
• Dark Brotherhood

Tamriel Unlimited

The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited is a rebranded version of the base game, that coincided with the change in payment model of the game, beginning on PC and Mac on March 17, 2015, and on PS4 and Xbox One with console release on June 9, 2015.

Morrowind

Morrowind includes the the base gaming along with chapter The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind.

Morrowind Digital Collector's Edition

The Morrowind Digital Collector's Edition is a collector's edition for The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind which includes the base game along with the following content:

• Morrowind
• Collector’s Edition Grey Bear, An exclusive grey War Bear for use while playing as the Warden
• An exclusive mount, the Armored War Horse
• A Dwarven Spider Pet
• Morag Tong Converter, which makes it possible to customize the player's gear to that of the Morag Tong
• A bundle of exclusive character emotes
• All in-game rewards contained in the Pre-Order Bonus "Discovery Pack"
• An exclusive Warden Costume, which will make the player's character look like the warden in the Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind announcement trailer

Morrowind Physical Collector's Edition

The Morrowind Physical Collector's Edition is a collector's edition for The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind which includes the base gaming along with the following content:

• All the benefits of the Digital Collector's Edition
• Dwarven Colossus Statue, a 12" tall replica of the Colossus shown in the announcement trailer (not in game)
• Naryu's Journal, a full-color, large-format book chronicling Morag Tong assassin Naryu Virian's pursuit of a conspiracy across Tamriel, illustrated with concept art (not in game)
• Map of Morrowind (not in game)
• A metallic case bearing the marks of Vivec and the Tribunal (not in game)

Trivia

• The game has been in development since 2007.
• The game development budget is $80 million dollars.^[41]
• 5 million people signed up for the game's beta.
• The game has sold a total of 7 million copies since its release.^[42] While the game utilized a subscription model, it had around 1.2 million subscribers by the end of 2014.
• There are 25,000+ items in the game, as well as 2,500+ books, 12,000+ characters, and 5.0952187×10⁵⁸ (509521870000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000) possible character variations.
• Many races have their own type of craftable armor, including the Daedra and Dwemer. Not all racial styles belong to playable races.
• There are moral dilemmas in some quests and the choices cannot be reversed without abandoning the quest.
• Content in Cyrodiil is not just player-versus-player, there are character towns and many quests scattered throughout Cyrodiil, though the Vestige is always vulnerable to those from enemy alliances no matter where they are.
• The creatures' AI system is such so that they not only will work together, but will also be aware when they are being outnumbered by players.^[43]
• A full day/night cycle in the game will last 5.82083 real-life hours.
• The Elder Scrolls Online is the first The Elder Scrolls game not to have been developed by Bethesda.
• The game's logo appears as a collectible in The Evil Within 2, another game published by Bethesda. It can be found in Sebastian's office on the second floor of his old home.^[44]
• On July 20, 2023 and July 21, 2023 The Elder Scrolls Online themed cosmetics released for Fortnite. This included a skin, back bling, and harvesting tool.^[source?]

Videos

Gallery

See also

• The Elder Scrolls Online (Versions) – information about the updates to the game
• The Elder Scrolls Online Original Soundtrack
• Million Reasons to Play
• Books (Online)
• Characters (Online)
• Creatures (Online)
• Factions (Online)
• Locations (Online)
• Quests (Online)
• Armor (Online)
• Weapons (Online)
• Combat (Online)

References

Media

Main Series
Arena Daggerfall (CompUSA Expansion) Morrowind (Tribunal | Bloodmoon) Oblivion (Knights of the Nine | Shivering Isles) Skyrim (Dawnguard | Hearthfire | Dragonborn | Legendary Edition| Special Edition | VR | Very Special Edition | Anniversary Edition) VI
Spin-offs
General	Battlespire Redguard Eye of Argonia Paradise Sugar Blades Castles
Travels	Stormhold Dawnstar Shadowkey Oblivion Mobile Oblivion PSP
Online	Imperial City Orsinium Thieves Guild Dark Brotherhood Shadows of the Hist Horns of the Reach Dragon Bones Wolfhunter Murkmire Smolder Scrolls
	Daedric War: Online: Morrowind Clockwork City Summerset
	Season of the Dragon: Wrathstone Elsweyr Scalebreaker Dragonhold
	Dark Heart of Skyrim: Harrowstorm Greymoor Stonethorn Markarth
	Gates of Oblivion: Flames of Ambition Blackwood Waking Flame Deadlands
	Legacy of the Bretons: Ascending Tide High Isle Lost Depths Firesong
	Shadow Over Morrowind: Scribes of Fate Necrom Scions of Ithelia Gold Road
Legends	The Fall of the Dark Brotherhood Heroes of Skyrim Return to Clockwork City Houses of Morrowind Isle of Madness Alliance War Moons of Elsweyr Jaws of Oblivion
Strategy Guides
Arena Manual Codex Scientia Daggerfall Manual The Daggerfall Chronicles Battlespire User's Guide Battlespire Athenaeum The Redguard Companion Volume R Morrowind Manual The Morrowind Prophecies Oblivion Game Guide Skyrim Game Guide Hero's Guides to The Elder Scrolls Online
Books
The Origin of Cyrus! Pocket Guide to the Empire, First Edition Pocket Guide to the Empire, Third Edition The Infernal City Lord of Souls The Art of Skyrim Tales of Tamriel (The Land | The Lore) The Skyrim Library (The Histories | Man, Mer, and Beast | The Arcane) The Official Cookbook
Merchandise
Merchandise Call to Arms Bethesda Pinball Skyrim Monopoly Fortnite